Dell XPS9350-673SLV Ultrabook Review

By Tech For Pennies

March 3, 2016

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One of the much-advertised ultrabooks of 2016 is Dell XPS9350-673SLV. It has some unique features, such as the screen that uses almost the whole upper part of the unit, so not much inches are wasted. And surely, in the engine room there is enough grunt for the more demanding users as well. So, find out below if this laptop is something you should spend your money on.

What is it good for?

Let’s take the performance aspect first. Dell XPS9350-673SLV is equipped with Intel Core i5-6200U processor which can be described as a high end one, especially when you consider this is an ultrabook. It is a dual-core model with 2.3GHz clock and 2.8GHz turbo speed, with CPU Mark score reaching around 3900 points. That’s excellent for a small laptop, and you can throw a software light or heavy at this notebook without the processor slowing down.

The 4GB system memory is sufficient for most – however for serious multitasking you might want to choose the 8GB model (RAM is not upgradeable here, it’s soldered on board). Fortunately, the storage drive is a very quick 128GB SSD – no slow hard drive here. Programs and Windows itself will start up faster than on hard drive powered system, so this machine is good for the impatient.

And of course, the Dell looks darn stylish. Almost the whole top part is occupied by the display; bezel is minimal. The 13.3″ anti-glare non-touch screen also sports Full HD resolution so screen estate won’t be a problem for you – for example Photoshop and browser window will fit nicely on the screen at the same time.

Battery is golden here, at least compared to regular laptops. The 4-cell 56Whr unit will last for 7-8 hours, a full day (or close) at office or school. Bear in mind the battery can’t be easily replaced if it malfunctions, a common feature of ultrabooks.

What is it bad for?

Of course, Dell XPS9350-673SLV isn’t the best choice if you’re looking for a desktop replacement. The small display won’t be a match for bigger PC monitor if you’re looking for large physical screen size. In addition, the small storage drive (128GB) means you can not store nearly as much data as you could on a desktop or larger laptop. 128GB equals to ~27 DVDs which is quite much, but compare that to 1000GB hard drive’s ~100 DVDs and you see the difference.

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Also, this Dell isn’t the best companion for a gamer. Reason is simple, there is just an integrated engine available for graphics, and its name is Intel HD 520. You can surely fire up many games, but you’ll need to be careful with settings, otherwise FPS will drop too low. The famous GTA 5 would get 20-30FPS on normal settings and 1366×768, that is somewhat playable but you’ll still feel the choppiness. The situation is better with games like Diablo 3 and CS:Go, you can play those using high settings and gameplay will be smooth.

Neutral features

You can spice up your Dell XPS9350-673SLV with various peripherals. The laptop sports three USB ports for that, two of those are USB 3.0 while one is USB Type-C which supports, for example, Thunderbolt 3. There is no dedicated HDMI output, but an inexpensive USB adapter will help with that.

The only audio port is the headphone and microphone combo connector on the left hand side.

As a small unit, the Dell does not have an optical drive. Some will find it annoying, however it also means the laptop is smaller. USB-connecting drive can be used in case you want to use discs.

There is a high-quality 802.11ac dual-band WiFi card allowing for Internet and Bluetooth 4.0 access. RJ-45 port isn’t available, but again USB adapter will help.

The keyboard features backlight on this model.

Summing it up

One could very well call Dell XPS9350-673SLV a premium notebook. It has a business-like look so you don’t need to be ashamed no matter where you go with this unit. And equally important, the performance is great with Core i5 processor, although the small size of the 128GB solid-state drive might bother some. Also a drawback for players, there’s not much gaming performance available. If you accept all this, then the Dell should only surprise you in a positive way!